Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis Community

I eat the same meal several times a week. It’s a delightful and savory meal of brown rice, tofu and vegetables. I feel very satiated from this plain meal and tonight I wonder why? My gut feeling on this is “need.” Yep, pretty sure that’s it, a simple need, a need to feel energized and gorgeous. This “need” I have is in alignment with why I don’t drink alcohol, like, hardly ever; I just don’t feel energized or gorgeous the morning after. A younger me could recover in a timely fashion from tipping back a few, but not now. The day after even one drink it’s POW!, getting outa bed I dread and my eyelids are over stuffed bags.

I like living La Vida as a triple A battery with my energy zipping. And I admit I have an intimate relationship with caffeine. That instant VIA coffee is electro shock therapy in a packet, it’s a must try. But if you take a minute and think about it, anyone living with a SCI or paralysis knows making it through a day takes way more energy then any pop-up has to expend doing the same old same old. So I choose my food based on my needs.

I make my food and beverage choices mostly based on how clean they are, how much energy I can gain and taste is third on my list. When I say “clean” I mean pesticide and additive free, as close to the foods natural state as I can get it. I’m not a raw foodie, well not yet, who knows what’s around the bend for me but for now I still like warm food. I’ve trained myself through the years to make choices based on how energized I feel and how I look. It works for me.

When I began wheelchair racing in the late 70’s I was a vegetarian. From my extensive and exhaustive training I became anemic so my Doctor put me on iron supplements. The results weren’t stellar so I started eating meat; red meat and it cured the anemia, simple choice, right? That’s me, simple. I understood from that experience that food could affect my performance and I liked that control. Throughout my racing career it was common knowledge that Candace had food with her, always. Food is fuel and that in turn contributed to outcomes. I traveled with enough food to sustain me through the event. Heck, I even traveled with a mini hand crank blender.

During the eighties carbo-loading was all the rage so I did my due diligence seeking the best and fastest way to get those crabs ingested and energizing my muscles, wham bam shazam. One experiment had me drinking sweet lemonade and eating raisins. Oh sure energized I was but I spent way too much time back and forth to the toilet. My eating was experimental, specifically detailed and purposeful. If something worked well I repeated it over and over and over. Once the race was completed and I was refueled; I would indulge in pleasure foods. One of my treats on the flight home, was a bag of M &M’s, uh-huh I know, crazy wild eating.

Upon discovery that I had a food allergy, my life changed in 2001. Not just any food allergy but a gluten/wheat allergy. Gluten is a type of protein that is found in rye, wheat and barley. Examples where gluten is found are

breads, pastas, cakes, cookies, pies, you get my drift. Pretty much the staves of life. I don’t have Celiac Disease, which is the extreme version of this allergy. What happens to me when I eat gluten or wheat is I feel tired, my nose gets stuffy, I get a little headache and puff daddy in the eye area. Good-bye energized and gorgeous.

Oh sure sometimes I “take the hit” as I call it; I choose foods that don’t “love” me. I know full well, from past experience, this choice could be a knock out punch or just a bit of a wake up slap or I could get lucky and dodge the bullet all together. The dodge feels good in the moment but I know me well enough to know I will push the envelope with thinking I’m immune to the old effects, maybe I grew out of my allergy and I eat more. It’s a sadistic form of self-sabotage, though not necessarily deadly, but damaging, with setbacks and I’m not keen on setbacks.

I’ve been mindfully eating for a long time out of the basic need to feel good. I love food and love to eat. So I’ve paid attention to what food gives me what I want, energy and being gorgeous. When I do eat a “not that food” I don’t scream and yell at myself, no guilt trips, no punishment. I just enjoy the moment, understand the consequences and live with it. After the episode I evaluate the outcome and make a choice based on what my intention is, do I want to feel energized and gorgeous or not? Simple choice, right?

Many blessing to y'all as you eat well, in joy, Candace

Add Comment